Water damage in the kitchen wall

More water damage in the house. When we signed on the dotted line for the house we're in now, things started going wrong.

We've had numerous floods in the basement, electrical shorts (which have nearly started fires)  gas line leaks, etc. 

 

Looks like the washing machine is leaking now. 

 

I saw a puddle under the washer last week, hubby AKA 'fix it guy' worked on things for a while and we thought we had it fixed.

Then Saturday, I noticed a bubble in the paint on the kitchen wall (located next to the laundry room. ) I knew that wasn't a good sign, and as I was feeling the wall to see if there were any soft spots, my hand went right through the wall. 

 

Yep, definite soft spot!

So, here we go again. I have this natural aversion to water damage and mold. In our previous house, we had a leak in the roof over our sun room. 

 

It took 3 months to fix. 

 

They had to tear the wall down to the cinder block, then sand it, bleach it, and use a negative air pressure machine to reduce the moisture. Then re-sand and re-bleach the walls. 

 

They tore out part of the ceiling and replace most of the roof. It was a little scary to see that part of the house sealed off in plastic and workmen coming and going in bio-hazard suits. 

 

We got a picture of the bio-hazard symbol on the door to the sun room - a warning to those entering the house through the back of the house. 

 

It was just about the time Kitty had just been released from the hospital for the 4th or 5th time after a bout with pneumonia. I can't help but thinking the black mold in the sun room had an effect on her. Mold is a definite trigger for asthma, and we had plenty of it.

So, here we go again. I have been known to be a little aggressive in tearing down wet plaster to prevent mold growing. 

 

Hey, I'll do anything to protect my kids.

So, you all can have fun shopping this weekend, we'll be fixing our kitchen and laundry room walls! We'll be shopping too though - but at the hardware store. 

 

Looks like the kitchen is going to get a new coat of paint once we get the wall done. So much for a relaxing weekend.